Someone to Watch Over Me
by lahmrh
Summary: A stopover for dilithium goes badly awry. Gen.


Author's Note: Written for goldvermilion87 in the happy_trekmas exchange.

**Someone to Watch Over Me**

_Captain's Log, Stardate 4875.3. Our encounter with the Klingons on Stardate 4871.6 has left our dilithium crystals depleted, and we are currently in orbit around the Federation planet Aksaan, preparing to beam down and bargain for replacements. The landing party will consist of myself, First Officer Spock, Lieutenant Kapoor, and Ensign Graves._

Kirk and the rest of the landing party materialise in the foyer of the main council building, and are immediately greeted by Lakron, aide to the First Minister. The Aksaani look similar to humans, apart from their greyish skin and the presence of six fingers on each hand. Kirk remembers Spock telling him that the Aksaani are particularly well known for their music, and supposes the extra fingers would help with that. He catches young Ensign Graves sneaking a look at his hands once Lakron's back is turned and holds back a smile.

The First Minister seems initially cautious about meeting with them, clearly unused to dealing with outworlders, but things go more smoothly once Kirk explains that they're here to trade. The Aksaani economy is almost entirely based on trade, and the First Minister looks contemplative as Kirk and Spock make suggestions as to the food, medicine, technology, and other things the Enterprise has to offer.

Finally, he states that he will have to speak to the rest of the council before making a decision. Kirk agrees, and decides to take the opportunity to walk around a little while they wait.

He takes a deep breath of fresh, non-recycled air as they step outside, and feels himself begin to relax for the first time in days.

"You know, this wouldn't be a bad place for shore leave," he muses to Spock, as they explore a nearby park. Behind them he can hear Graves and Kapoor chattering animatedly, apparently enjoying this time away from the ship as much as Kirk is.

"It has been some time since the last one," Spock replies, which Kirk takes as an agreement. He pauses to admire a particularly colourful patch of flowers, then sneaks a glance at Spock and decides to tease a little.

"I thought Vulcans didn't need shore leave, Mister Spock."

Spock must be in a good mood as Kirk can see a faint smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "All beings require rest, Captain. My objection is to the fact that human shore leaves appear to involve so little of it."

"Yes, well, maybe this time I can persuade you to-" Kirk breaks off as Spock suddenly goes still, glancing around them. "What is it?"

"Do you hear that?" Spock asks, head tilted as if listening intently.

Kirk strains his ears, but hears nothing. He's about to ask what he's supposed to be listening for when Spock cries, "Get down!" and he is abruptly shoved to the ground.

Kirk lands hard, arms instinctively covering his head. He feels Spock land on top of him, shielding him, before the world explodes around them.

x x x

The aftermath is curiously quiet. Kirk raises his head slightly and coughs as he breathes in dust. His ears are ringing, and his body is aching in a dozen different spots, but he doesn't seem to be seriously injured.

He shifts slightly and realises Spock is still lying on top of him. "Your hearing is to be commended, Mister Spock," he says. There is no response, and Kirk's heart speeds up. "Spock?"

Carefully, he edges out from under the still form, and feels his heart turn over as the reason for Spock's silence becomes readily apparent. In shielding him Spock took the brunt of the explosion on himself, and his back is covered in blood, his blue uniform shirt hanging off him in tatters.

For a second Kirk can only stare in shock, but then he forces himself to snap out of it and begins searching for a pulse. He finds one, weak but steady, and feels a rush of relief. "You're going to be okay," he says, not quite certain of who he's trying to reassure. "Just hold on."

He reaches for his communicator and finds it missing, likely lost during the chaos. Spock's is still attached to his belt, but it has clearly been hit and is badly dented. Kirk flips it open anyway, pressing his other hand against Spock's back in the hope of slowing the bleeding.

"Kirk to _Enterprise_. Kirk to _Enterprise_."

No response, not even static. Kirk curses under his breath and tosses it aside, pressing down harder on Spock's injuries. He scans the ground around them, searching for his own communicator, before something moves in the corner of his vision and he whips around, moving instinctively to protect Spock.

He relaxes when he sees Kapoor and Graves. Kapoor is limping, with a cut across one cheek and dust in her hair, but otherwise seems unharmed. She is supporting Graves, who has one hand pressed to his head, the red of human blood just visible between his fingers.

"Are you two all right?" Kirk asks.

"I am," Kapoor says. "Graves took a knock to the head, but I think he'll be okay." As Kirk watches, her gaze falls on Spock. "Is Mister Spock-"

"He'll be fine," Kirk replies before she can finish. He glances back down at Spock and swallows, trying to maintain his certainty in the face of so much blood. "Do you have a communicator? Mine was lost in the blast."

There's a brief pause, then, "Yes sir." She doesn't wait for an order before flipping it open and signalling the ship. "Lieutenant Kapoor to the _Enterprise_."

For a second nothing happens, then Kirk hears, very faintly, "_Enterprise_ here."

He closes his eyes briefly in relief.

Kapoor is all business, and underneath the pain and fear, Kirk manages to summon up a spark of pride in his crew. "_Enterprise_, we request immediate beam up and a medical team to the transporter room. Mister Spock is seriously injured."

Kirk doesn't hear the response, but it must be positive because a few moments later he feels the familiar tingle of the transporter beam. _Hold on, Spock_, he thinks. _Just hold on._

He's so focused on his refrain, on the feeling of Spock's blood under his hands, that he barely notices the transporter room materialise around them until a pair of hands cover his. He looks up to see McCoy looking at him with an expression that is equal parts determined and sympathetic.

With a deep breath, Kirk pulls his hands back and lets the med-team do their job. The med-techs move Spock onto a stretcher and apply gauze while McCoy and M'Benga discuss tricorder readings. "Looks like we'll have to operate," M'Benga says quietly, and McCoy agrees.

Kirk looks down at his hands, green with blood, and swallows hard.

He follows Spock and the med-team down to sickbay, but is forced to wait outside as he's taken into surgery. Kirk stares at the closed door for a long moment, before he pulls on his best captainly mask and goes to wash his hands. He still has a job to do.

One of the nurses waylays him on his way out of sickbay, and forces him to submit to an examination. Aside from some cuts and bruises, which are dealt with swiftly, he is unharmed. _Thanks to Spock_, Kirk thinks, and tries to banish the images of too-pale skin and fabric turned dark with blood.

Lieutenant Kapoor turns out to have a sprained ankle in addition to various cuts and bruises, Ensign Graves has two cracked ribs and a concussion, but luckily they were both far enough away to escape the brunt of the explosion.

"Captain," Kapoor says, as a nurse begins treating her ankle, "what _happened_ down there?"

"I don't know," Kirk replies grimly. "But I intend to find out." With a final glance at the operating room, he strides out of sickbay and heads for the bridge.

When he arrives on the bridge he goes straight to the centre chair and sits down. "Lieutenant Uhura," he orders, "open a channel to the First Minister."

She does so, and a few seconds later the First Minister appears on the screen. "Captain Kirk," he greets.

He looks like he is about to say more, but Kirk cuts him off. "My landing party was just nearly killed in an explosion," he says. "My first officer is currently in critical condition. I _demand_ to know what happened and who is responsible."

The First Minister laces his many fingers together. "We are aware of the incident, Captain. Many of our people were injured in the blast. We are looking into the matter, but as yet the cause has not been determined."

Kirk takes a breath, letting it out slowly. "I'd like to send some of my own people down to help with the investigation. Is that acceptable?"

The First Minister nods. "Indeed, Captain. Any assistance you can offer would be most welcome." He glances off-screen, then says apologetically, "I must go. I will tell my people to expect you shortly."

The screen goes dark, and Kirk sits back in his chair. After a second he leans over and presses the intercom. "Kirk to sickbay."

There's a pause, then, "Sickbay here."

"Is Mister Spock out of surgery yet?"

"No, Captain."

"Well, inform me when he is."

"Yes, sir."

Kirk breaks the connection, then pushes himself to his feet. He's going to find out what happened down there if it's the last thing he does. "Sulu, you have the conn. I'm beaming back down to the planet." He turns to Uhura. "Have Mister Scott meet me in the transporter room." He pauses, then adds, "And have a medical team meet me there as well." They might not be trained for Aksaani anatomy, but he knows from experience that in a situation like this, even a little extra help can make a difference.

Scotty isn't pleased about being dragged away from his engines, but when Kirk explains the situation, that they're trying to find out what happened to Spock, he is only too happy to help.

As McCoy and M'Benga are still in surgery, Nurse Chapel leads the medical team. She and the two nurses with her are all equipped with tricorders and medical kits, ready for action.

They beam down to the park, and Kirk grimaces as he takes in the scope of the disaster. The beauty he admired before is gone, replaced by dust and soil and rubble.

The medical team immediately scatter, off to help the wounded as best they can. Kirk and Scotty head over to where several Aksaani with clipboards are standing next to an especially large pile of rubble.

One of them, a man dressed all in red, breaks off and comes to greet them as they approach. "You are Captain Kirk?" he asks.

"That's right," Kirk says. "This is my Chief Engineer, Mister Scott."

The man bows. "I am Hafron. The Minister told us you were coming."

He leads them over to the others, and Kirk realises they're all standing around a large, jagged hole in the ground.

"The explosion came from underground?" Scotty asks, just as Kirk comes to the same conclusion.

Hafron nods. "It appears that way. This part of the ground runs over a fuel line that suddenly ruptured. We have not entirely ruled out sabotage, but our belief is that it was more likely an unfortunate accident."

An accident. Spock and who knows how many others could be dying from a pointless accident. Kirk takes a deep breath, in, and then out again. "Scotty, what do you think?" he asks.

"I'd have to take a look before I can make any conclusions, Cap'n," Scotty replies, already craning his neck to look down the hole.

"Fine," Kirk says. "Keep me updated. I'm going to look around a little."

He leaves Scotty with the Aksaani engineers and wanders off to see if there's anything else he can do.

He pulls out his communicator to contact the ship, then sighs and puts it away again. They'll tell him if something changes. _No news is good news, as my dad used to say…._

All around him is wreckage and destruction. He thinks of the beautiful flowers he walked through with Spock just a few hours ago and wonders how long it will take the Aksaani to replant them all. If they even do.

His communicator beeps and he immediately grabs it and flicks it open. "Kirk here."

McCoy's voice comes through clearly. "He's out of surgery, Jim."

Kirk draws in a breath, barely able to ask. "He's okay?"

"I'm not going to lie to you," McCoy says, "it was touch and go for a while there. But he's gone into a healing trance, and M'Benga assures me he'll make a full recovery."

Kirk lets his breath out in a huge whoosh, feeling his body sag with relief. "_Thank you_," he says fervently, unsure whether he's talking to McCoy or just the universe in general. He can't imagine how he would have coped if he'd lost Spock, especially when his friend only got hurt because he was protecting him. _Just like he always does._

McCoy seems to take Kirk's comment as addressed to him, however, and replies with, "You're welcome." There's a pause before he adds, "Did you find out what caused the explosion?"

Kirk shrugs, though he knows McCoy can't see him. "Ruptured fuel line, apparently. Scotty's checking it out, but all signs are that it was an accident. We just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

McCoy snorts. "You know, Jim, sometimes I can't tell whether you have the best luck in the universe, or the worst."

"I'll tell you if I figure it out," Kirk replies. "How long until Spock comes out of the trance?"

"Hard to say. Could be a few hours, could be a few days. The good thing is when he does wake up he should be pretty much fully healed."

Kirk nods, remembering a similar incident involving an old-style projectile weapon. Spock had walked away from that with barely a scratch. The Vulcan healing trance truly is an amazing thing.

He exchanges a few more words with McCoy, then flicks his communicator closed and begins wandering back to the cluster of engineers, feeling like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

He gets back to the hole to find Scotty has actually climbed down into it, along with one of the Aksaani, and the two of them are involved in a particularly animated discussion involving much waving of hands. Scotty breaks off abruptly when he sees Kirk.

"Anything to report?" Kirk asks.

"Aye, sir," Scotty says, nodding. "I think these fellas are right, it was just an accident." He points at a particular part of the pipe, near to the rupture. "See here, there's signs of wear all over. It was only a matter of time till something gave out." He gives the Aksaani engineer a hard look as he speaks.

"Could something like this happen again?"

Scotty scratches his head. "Aye, if all the pipes are in this condition. But there's a chance this one was just defective." He moves to climb out of the hole, and Kirk bends down to give him a hand.

"I do not believe it will happen again," Hafron says, as he joins Kirk in helping Scotty out of the hole. "The First Minister takes safety very seriously. There will be an investigation."

Scotty dusts down his uniform. "Any news on Mister Spock?" he asks Kirk.

Kirk nods, managing a smile. "He's going to be all right."

Scotty smiles back. "The crew'll be pleased to hear that, sir."

Kirk nods, but his smile quickly grows forced. Spock might be on the way to a full recovery, but Kirk still has the memory of watching his best friend's life slipping away under his hands, and he doesn't think he'll ever forget it.

x x x

_Captain's log, Stardate 4876.3. We have obtained the dilithium we needed in exchange for a number of our most powerful scanners, which Engineer Scott assures me will allow the Aksaani to better identify weak points in their fuel lines _before_ they turn critical. As for Mister Spock, Doctor M'Benga assures me he is fully recovered and should be coming out of his healing trance any time now._

Even knowing what to expect, it's extremely strange to watch Doctor M'Benga slapping Spock across the face as though it were a perfectly normal medical treatment. Kirk is relieved on more than one level when Spock's hand comes up to catch the swinging arm, and a tired voice says, "Thank you, Doctor, that will be sufficient."

M'Benga steps back and Spock's gaze travels around the room, settling on Kirk. "Captain," he greets. "You seem uninjured."

Kirk nods. "Thanks to you," he says, moving forward until he is standing at Spock's bedside. "What do you remember?"

Spock frowns. "I remember… there was an explosion. I was injured."

"You nearly died," Kirk says. He rubs his hands together absently, trying to banish the phantom touch of blood and flesh under his palms. "You nearly _died_,and I got away with barely a scratch."

Something close to relief flashes across Spock's face at his words, and Kirk has to fight down a sudden rush of anger. He takes a deep breath and changes the subject. "The good news is we got the dilithium we needed." He calmly lays out the events of the last day or so – everything except how worried he was about Spock.

It isn't until M'Benga finishes his post-trance scans and leaves the room that Kirk lets his feelings show. "You scared me half to death back there," he says, staring at a point just to the right of Spock's head. "I thought you were going to die."

"That was not my intention," Spock replies. "I regret causing you pain."

Kirk looks at him, then, feeling suddenly tired. "Why did you do it?" he asks.

He intends the question to be mostly rhetorical; he already knows Spock's response. The first officer is more expendable than the captain, so it was _only logical_ for him to risk his own life in protection of Kirk's.

But Spock surprises him. Instead of giving the usual speech, he tilts his head to the side, studying Kirk, and says simply, "Because you would do the same for me."

The statement brings Kirk up short. Spock's right. If he'd been in the same position, he'd have done exactly the same thing. And he understands, then, what Spock _isn't_ saying; that, deep down, his actions weren't any more logical than Kirk's would have been. He acted to save Kirk for the same reason Kirk would have saved him; because they're friends.

"Yes," Kirk says softly. "I would have." He lays a hand gently on Spock's shoulder, and adds, "Thank you." He puts every ounce of his friendship and affection into the words, wanting Spock to know how much this means to him.

"You are welcome, Jim," Spock replies. His expression doesn't change, but the warmth in his voice tells Kirk his message has been understood.

And, for the first time in days, Kirk feels like everything is going to be okay.


End file.
